Five Years Later
by Top hat Elephant
Summary: Five years can change a person dramatically. Whether for the better, or the worse. In one person's case; he didn't know. Crouching in the shadows he waits for his que. His mission objective: kill someone, and not just anyone. He had argued for a while with his master on this topic. He wasn't going to kill, never again. Not after that. Read Fangy's 'Live What You Learn' beforehand.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Gotham

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to DC Comics. Sariel, Gus and Asif belong to Fangy.**

 **OTHER Disclaimer: This is a challenge from Fangy. Read her Live What You Learn fanfic first. And believe me when I say that her story is 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 times better than this so... go read that first. And I guess she sort of owns this story to so... yeah.**

 **I hope you all like this :)**

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 **Chapter 1:** _Welcome to Gotham_

Five years can change a person dramatically. Whether for the better, or the worse. In one person's case; he didn't know. Crouching in the shadows he waits for his que. His mission objective: kill someone, and not just anyone. He had argued for a while with his 'master' on this topic. He wasn't going to kill, never again. Not after _that_. But like every other topic, Slade always managed to get his way.

" _Renegade. That's your que. Move in."_ His master's voice carries through the comms unit.

"He's not doing anything wrong though." He replies, the name was another topic him and Slade just couldn't agree on. He wanted a new name, but Slade didn't want him to change it, in the end he agreed, if he got to choose. Hence the name Renegade.

" _But someone wants him dead, they're paying good money too, he dismissed a poor family's case when their daughter was kidnapped. They said she ran away, they never saw her again until she died. He was responsible for her death. Just do it, you don't even need to get close, just pull the trigger, I've seen you do worse."_ The face of the young girl comes back to him, Slade had already briefed him beforehand, hearing it again only made him certain it was an accident.

The boy, now a young man, slips out of the shadows, running along the rooftops, jumping the distances between them with ease. Looking around he sees familiar landmarks, many that to a normal civilian would be nothing more than a stone golem, a rooftop, illuminated letters or alleyways, but to him were his childhood. Jumping onto another roof he stops, a strange feeling coming over him, the feeling of being watched.

Breathing in the cold air he turns silently, trying to find the source of his discomfort. After a moment of search he gives up, unusual for him, but it could just be like a handful of other false alarms tonight. Walking slowly he approaches the end of the building, readying himself to jump he startles.

"Long time no see."

He whips around, the voice is familiar, brining him back to _then_. The guns, the heat, the fire, the… death.

"Sariel."

"Ah, so you remember."

"We talked just the other day." He replies, turning around to take in the woman behind him.

"Yeah, but that wasn't in person, I barely got a word in as you just love to go on and on about everything." The woman smiles slightly, hands on hips she motions to his gun with her head. "So, knowing you I don't think you'd be carrying that around by your own accord."

"You know me well." He sighs slightly, "Slade's given me a mission, gotta do his dirty work."

"I thought you weren't going to kill anymore." She says, a concerned tone in her voice.

"Sariel, I said I wasn't going to kill, never have, never will. _Then_ wasn't me killing people." He turns to jump, seeing Sariel is nice, but he has a job to do and he'd rather do it quickly or he'll face the wrath of Deathstroke the Terminator. Sariel grabs his arm before he can move.

"You've changed." She says quietly.

"Everyone changes." He says quickly.

"You aren't the kid I knew back then, he would have at least told me what's going on, the boy on the phone is the one I know, but this," She motions to his outfit, "This isn't the kid I know."

"Well first of all I'm almost twenty two now, I'm no kid. Second I'm not that kid anymore, he died with those people five years ago."

"No he didn't, who are you killing?" She asks.

"The commissioner." He says a hint of sadness entering his voice.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna let you do that." Sariel says darkly. "I may not be a good guy, but he doesn't deserve to die."

"I know I told Slade-"

" _Renegade, what are you doing?"_ Slade's voice cuts him off.

"Slade?" Sariel asks and he nods. Then she laughs. "Renegade?" He scowls.

"And I was just getting to like the name." He says pouting a little. He looks over to the next rooftop, he could just jump and kill Gordon, then he could talk with Sariel.

"I'm still not letting you kill him, you're one of the good guys, I'm here on a business trip with Gus and Asif, if you run I'll call them in." She warns.

"I'm not a good guy." He says.

"Yes you are. I've heard about the mysterious hero going around and handing in stolen items, finding unmarked graves, doing all that stuff, and coincidentally they all have something to do with Slade. You are a good guy Dick, whether you like it or not."

Dick Grayson looks over to Sariel, "What am I gonna go? After _that_ I realised I could never go back to being a hero, I just couldn't."

A strange look passes over Sariel's face before Dick's phone starts ringing, Dick looks down at it. It's Wintergreen. "You'd better take that." Sariel says motioning to the phone, "I'm staying right here though, so don't think you're safe." Sariel walks towards the shadows.

"Wintergreen? What's wrong?" Dick asks cautiously.

"Nothing back here, I just thought I'd warn you beforehand, so you don't get a scare when Slade comes over and breaks up your reunion party, he's cross." Wintergreen warns. "Ok that's all I have to say, bye." And with that the old man hangs up, leaving a confused Dick in his silence.

"Slade's coming. I'd better finish my job and you should leave." Dick says quickly to Sariel.

"You're not finishing your job, I've put in a call to make sure of it." Sariel grins darkly.

"You didn't call the police!" He whispers.

"No, I called someone else."

"Who? My parents? Well they're dead. You can't call the army or anyone like that, you'd be taken too." Dick snaps.

"I don't plan on staying around Dick, you're on your own here." Sariel says. "But you are." She adds pulling out a device. "Picked this up from Gus, paralyses people for a few minutes." She grins pressing a button before jumping. "See you 'round Dick. Or should I say Renegade. Or maybe Robin. Depends who finds you first." And with that she disappears. Leaving a paralysed Dick in her departure.

Dick watches for a moment before trying and failing to move. "Dammit Sariel, I swear you're trying to get me killed." He hisses, the words coming out slurred due to not being able to move.

A few minutes later (one hundred and forty eight seconds to be precise), his limbs start to work again. He clenches and unclenches his fists. He then moves his arms, fixing up his long hair and smoothing his bandanna that covers his face, leaving his eyes to hide behind his dark locks. A moment later he takes a step towards the edge of the building. No point trying to finish his job now, Sariel's probably already alerted Gordon to his danger.

"Freeze." A dark voice says behind him and Dick involuntarily does so for a moment. Before a smile plays on his lips, he turns his head to the side a little to look at the man.

"Sorry Batman, but you can't boss me around." He says, confident bravado entering his voice. He catches a glimpse of a smaller figure. "You can boss the kid around but not me." He nods towards the boy. He goes to jump before the dark night begins talking again causing him to stop.

"I'm not bossing you around, I'm merely trying to warn you. You freeze, and I hand you over to the authorities without a fight. You don't freeze, and I take you down like every other criminal in Gotham." Dick whips around, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"For your information I'm not a criminal, nor am I a good guy." Dick hisses darkly.

"Indeed, he is my apprentice." Slade's voice calls through the darkness and Dick sighs a breath of relief, looking over to the other buildings, catching sight of a figure silhouetted in the moonlight. He looks over to Slade who nods. Running to the edge of the rooftop he jumps, a smaller figure chasing after him.

"Sariel, how could you?" He asks, walking over to her.

"I didn't want to get involved, but you keep acting like you're the bad guy, like what you did back then was wrong." She says, holding her head high. "That was war Richard, there's no right or wrong. Think of all those people who come back from war and continue with their everyday life. They don't decide to be bad just from that, you did the right thing, stop beating yourself up about it. I called Gus and he got in contact with Batman and told him about a suspected assassination attempt of Commissioner Gordon. Go back and hand yourself over to him, he's probably worried sick."

Dick looks up at her, one of his best and closest friends, she'd seen more wars than him, he knows what's right, except… "He replace me with him." He motions to the boy hiding in the shadows a few meters away, trying to piece together the conversation from snippets he could actually hear.

"Who says you have to be Robin again, who says you have to be Renegade either, you can be anything Dick, I remember the boy who used to scream at me any time I even went near a gun. What happened to him?"  
"He grew up." Dick replies. "He realised how many innocents he killed and went to the only person who'd understand."

"Well it's never too late to change 'kay? I'll be with Asif and Gus, you have my number, you need me, you call. I hope you make the right decision Dick." And this time Sariel leaves for good.

Dick stands on the rooftop for a moment pondering, the wind ruffling his hair before he turns around to see a boy wearing a red and black version of his costume watching him. "You know kid, that costume's cursed." He says grumpily. "You should get out before it kills you too." The boy looks up at him, a look of fear mixed with confusion on his masked face.

"How would you know?" He asks cautiously.

"Oh I hear things." Dick says looking over to the roof where his two mentors are still fighting. "I wonder who's gonna win." He murmurs, and the boy looks over too.

"Batman of course. He's always there, he never lets the bad guys win." The boy says.

"You know kid, I believed that too, but heroes only look after their own. Their town and nothing more. There are wars on the other side of the country where innocents are dying right as we speak, they need the capes more than us. I was there, and I know how they feel, yet they have no one and are only out to live until tomorrow." Dick says, watching the two fight.

"Batman told me not to fight you, he told me to tell you he was looking." The boy says looking up at him. "I think you're nicer than you let on." He adds making Dick smirk under his mask before jumping back onto the roof where the two older men fight. The boy follows after him.

"Renegade take him out." Slade demands, punching Batman in the stomach.

"No." He replies.

"That's an order." He growls, "Do it, you swore loyalty to me, so do as I say." Slade dodges a batarang and Dick looks down to the kid next to him.

"I think I'll pass, I'm not a bad guy, a friend of mine reminded me of that, and this kid." He says blocking Batman from a punch from his 'master'.

"Well maybe I'll take him as my apprentice instead." Slade says, a dangerous glint in his eye, "He's seen what's happened to you, maybe I'll have better luck with him, that suit is cursed, you either die in it, or turn to the dark side." Slade says, and Dick finally snaps.

Punching Slade and pushing him backwards he engages him in fight. "YOU ARE NEVER HURTING ANOTHER ROBIN AGAIN! STAY AWAY FROM HIM! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" He kicks Slade as hard as he can and Slade stumbles. "You pulled me away to war and ruined me, I was older than that kid, he's still young, you can't do that to a kid. You wont do that to anyone!" And with that he pushes Slade off the building and watches him fall eight stores to the sidewalk.

"He'll survive, he always does." He murmurs to no one in particular before turning to face the person he'd been dreading seeing for well over five years. Dick pushes his hair, damp with sweat, out of his eyes so he can see properly, his bandanna slipping down to his neck. "I guess he won't be back though." He adds.

Batman steps forwards. "I searched for you for years, I didn't want to give up, but I had to, we thought you were dead." He says, looking into his blue eyes.

Dick smiles tiredly, "Well I am a survivor. I learnt from the best." He says looking up. "You know Bruce, I might look like a girl now, or a cowboy, but you'll always look the same."

Bruce smiles a little. "Welcome home."

Dick's smile seems to widen before all the adrenaline keeping him awake seems to vanish and his legs give way, a strong grip catching him before he plummets after Slade. He lets the darkness take over, welcoming it as it engulfs his vision.

It's good to be home.


	2. Aftermath: Sorry

**Hey, I wasn't actually gonna do more chapters but I had another idea in mind and wrote this and an epilogue... yeah, this is just me trying to tie up the stuff I wrote in the last chapter before moving into the last chapter... hope it's alright.**

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 **Chapter 2:** _Aftermath: Sorry_

Opens one eye and then the other, looking around the room, no, not a room, a cave. The Batcave to be precise.

"Good morning." A voice says, and he sits in an upright position looking around from the bed in the hospital wing of the cave. Looking around he finds the owner of the voice. A boy, no older than thirteen wearing a pair of pyjamas and a dressing gown sits on a chair next to the bed.

"Is it?" Dick asks studying the boy, "You are wearing pyjamas and the cave is loud, the bats are screeching, it's night." The boy shrugs.

"It's early morning, like three am?" He looks to the watch on his wrist, "Yup, three." Dick smiles.

"You must be the new one." Dick says tiredly. The boy nods his grey-green eyes filled with what seems to be wonder and admiration.

"I-I try my best to… you know, live up to your name." He says becoming almost shy.

"Well if you've managed to get Bruce out of the cave at three am you're doing a pretty good job in my books." Dick says as the boy blushes with happiness. Dick holds out his hand, "Name's Richard Grayson, but my friends call me Dick." He says, and the boy takes it.

"Timothy Drake… people call me Tim." He says and Dick smiles shaking his hand.

"So, Tim, do you live here?" He asks and Tim nods. "Yeah, Mum's dead and Dad's in a coma. The doctors say he might not wake up." Tim looks down and Dick moves his hand to the boy's shoulder.

"My parents died when I was little too, Bruce took me in, although you probably know that don't you? I remember a little boy who was only one called Timmy who was at that show, that was you wasn't it." Dick says and Tim nods.

"I figured out who Batman was from that performance, not many kids have your gymnastic abilities." Timothy says shyly and Dick laughs.

"Sounds like you're some Boy Wonder."

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"ALFRED!" The butler seems to stiffen as a tall, skinny young man comes barrelling towards him. "I've missed you!" the man says and embraces the man in a tight hug.

"Master Richard, I have missed you too, we all have," The butler says, returning the hug making the boy smile.

"Master Timothy, would you please get Bruce, I think he'd want to be here." Alfred says to the boy behind him, he nods going over to the elevator.

Dick lets go of the butler to inspect him carefully. He grins after a moment and Alfred catches a glimpse of the thirteen year old he last saw. "You haven't changed a bit." The butler says quietly.

"Neither have you Alfred, although you seem to have quite a few more grey hairs on your head than when I left, these other Robins seem to have done their share of annoying you." Dick says cheekily making the old butler smile.

"Yes, but none have given me as many as you, neither of them have swung from the chandeliers and only one rode their skateboard down the balustrade. You are by far the cheekiest monkey of them all."

Dick seems to shudder. "I don't like monkeys." He says, "Give me the creeps." He adds making the old butler chuckle.

"So you finally decided to wake up." A voice behind him states. Dick turns around.

"Yeah well… how long was I out for?"

"Two days." Bruce says and Dick smiles before embracing the man in a hug. he stiffens for a moment like Alfred before melting into the hug.

"I'm so sorry Bruce, about everything, Joker, running away, causing so much trouble, doing all of this, I'm so sorry." Tears start falling down his face, betraying him. Bruce's arms tighten around his boy.

"Me too." He whispers. "I'm sorry too."


	3. Epilogue: Viva la Vida

**Couldn't think of anything to write for the title... so it's Viva la Vida.**

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 **Chapter 3:** _Epilogue: Viva la Vida (Live life)_

" _Robin: I'm pursuing Joker down the alleyway, continue onto phase three."_ Batman's voice calls through the comms units.

"Roger, um, what is phase three? There were only two phases." Tim says confused.

"I'm phase three, come on kid, I need to see my successor in action for once." A voice mocks behind him.

"Dick!" He jumps.

"It's not nice to call people names you know." Dick says in a mock stern voice.

Tim turns to look at him. "What exactly are you wearing?" He asks, taking in the costume.

"My superhero suit, I ditched the cape on the way here, it kept wrapping itself around my face." Dick says.

"And what is your name, you can't go down there and say your name is Robin, because that's just confusing, and I thought you were getting your hair cut." Tim grins.

"Hey! What's wrong with having long hair?" Dick asks defensively.

"You look like a girl!" He laughs, and Dick ruffles his hair.

"Well you look like a kid three years younger wearing that." He teases. "My name's Nightwing." He says, putting his fists on his sides in a Wonder Woman pose. Tim continues to laugh.

"Ok Dick. I mean Nightwing." Tim says jumping down into the alley.

"Dick, go get him!" Batman shouts into the comms.

"It's Nightwing!" He shouts back, his mouth is probably right next to his communicator it's so loud it makes Bruce wince.

"Yeah, you need to say it twenty times like I did to remember it. Like this: Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Nightwing, Night-"

"Ok I get it, but it's better than Renegade alright, unless you want me to be Batbird, or something like that." The older boy calls before the two see him karate chop Joker in the face.

"And that's because I can't do that to Robin or Batman no matter how much I want to." He says loudly as Joker falls unconscious.

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Dick looks around before shooting a grappling hook up onto the building, it's one of the tallest in Gotham and he looks out towards Jump City, a tiny 'T' visible on the horizon.

"Oh God, I miss them." He says sadly.

"We missed you too." A voice says behind him and he turns around to face three young adults and one older teen.

"Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven, Starfire!" He says, throwing himself at the four.

Looking out over the tops of all the buildings he sees a woman standing on the rooftops watching him.

"Where'd you go dude!" Beast Boy demands, his voice not squeaky anymore being around eighteen now not a thirteen/fourteen year old boy fighting with puberty.

"The desert." He answers.

"What were you doing there?" Raven asks.

"Slade dragged me there. Wanted me to see the world as it was. As the cruel dark place it is." Dick replies.

"How did you get here?" Cyborg asks.

"I came with Slade as his apprentice and then took him out, dunno where he is now though." Dick responds.

"And now you are back. Please, what made you change your mind, friend Robin?" Starfire asks.

Dick smiles. "Call me Nightwing now, or Dick, that's my name. And why'd I change my mind about being Slade's apprentice?" Dick smiles looking over to the alien princess he loves with his whole heart. He pulls his mask off, letting the wind flow over his face. "I realised the world needs a protector, it needs more heroes, I'm not built for being a villain." He tilts his head to the side a bit smiling at the woman on the rooftop as he says it. Sariel turns and gives him a wave before disappearing into the night.

"I guess I decided I was gonna live what I learned."

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 **Thanks for reading!  
**

 **Stay awesome and if you haven't already go read Live What You Learn to see where this came from!**

 **Top Hat Elephant :)**


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